


Prince of Soleanna

by Velvet_Cosplays



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Fluff, Gen, Mild emotional hurt/comfort, Minor Anxiety, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, does this count as an original character?, human(?) AU, if you're sensitive then you're probably fine reading this, minor self doubt, prince of soleanna au, solaris actually has personality, solaris can speak
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:20:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26378701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Velvet_Cosplays/pseuds/Velvet_Cosplays
Summary: >The incident 10 years ago...>...it yielded no casualties.>The subjects broke containment when no scientists were present.>The only one who was present was Elise.>She was not harmed.>The Royal Family gained a new prince.
Relationships: Solaris & Elise - Platonic, Solaris & Elise - Siblings
Comments: 6
Kudos: 21





	1. Chapter 1

The laboratory was dark. No one was around, except for Elise. 

Her bare feet softly smacked against the cold, metallic floors of the underwater world. Every soft, flashing light caught her eyes as she ran, happily exploring her father's secret project. It was supposed to bring her mother back! And it excited her, so, so much! 

She was told a nice flame-thing, named Solaris, would help her and her father. Supposedly it was an ancient deity, the patron of Soleanna in fact! Oh... that- made her a bit confused about her feelings. After all, it felt like... she was somewhat being forced into this role, being a "strong queen". But it didn't matter right now, because right now? She was seeing what would change the world!

Eventually, the young princess stumbled across a huge, hourglass-like tube in the middle of the room. A deep purple mist was in the smaller, higher compartment of the tube, while a bright orange flame was in the lower and bigger part. 

The deep mist was condensed at the bottom of the container, though it rose slightly once she walked in. Elise's excited running slowed to a stop, staring into the... oddly familar... lights. 

The fire seemed to have been ignoring her, until the mist began to become aggravated, swirling and clanking against the glass, ringing out and waking the flames, who floated upward to the mist for a moment, before pressing itself closer to the glass to "look" at Elise. 

She blinked, then gave a small smile and wave. These things looked a lot like Solaris! Behaved similar, too. 

The flame "stared" her down for a moment, then recoiled when her hand slowly reached toward it, trying to touch it through the glass. The warmth of the fire felt... almost familiar...

She must have spaced out for a moment, as she was brought quickly back to reality by the fire slamming against the glass, managing to crack it from the inside. She jumped back with a small shriek of surprise as the flames got more intense, beginning to bounce around the tube, clinking against it and trying to shatter it. Cracks appeared all throughout it, before finally, the tube fell apart with a powerful explosion. 

The mist dropped down from the upper tube, landing in the base of the container and beginning to slip and slither between the fragments of broken glass, starting to cover the floor for a moment before climbing one of the walls and clinging to some of the wiring running along the ceiling, wrapped tightly around it, much like a snake.

The fire seemed slightly disoriented for a moment, becoming a ball of ash and obsidian for a moment, then falling apart and reforming into what seemed like a miniature sun, then falling apart once more into pure fire, quickly slithering through the air up to the dark mist, which let itself be pulled from the wiring toward the fire, and eventually into it.

The dark purple and blinding yellow began to dance almost, twisting around each other for a moment before becoming a beautiful white flame, which hovered there for a moment before flying down to Elise, seemingly inspecting her for a moment as it began to circle her. 

"...nice fire?" Elise asked, somewhat dumbfounded by what she saw. trying to back off from the flames slowly enclosing around her. Even though they felt like they would scorch her, they only felt gently warm each time they brushed her. 

"...who... are you?" A weak-sounding, echoing voice asked in her head. It wasn't her own conscious, and it briefly scared her, but then she began to realize this was probably the flame asking her. 

"I'm Elise!" She said, with the confidence of the queen she was going to be one day. "Princess Elise- th, the third." She stuttered for just a moment, her act being dropped for just a moment.

The flames stopped circling, simply staying in front of her. She could... almost sense something from it... a connection of sort. It felt amused, and despite not speaking, or having a face, or even a body to read the language of, she could understand it. 

The fire seemed to be inspecting her for another moment, before starting to attempt to copy her form. She could make out the vague appearance of arms and legs, as well as a head and torso out of the fire. 

"...what are you doing?" She curiously asked, tilting her head as her fear began to vanish as she realized it wasn't here to hurt her. The connection she felt- it was too strong for her to not realize that it was harmless. Well- at least to her.

The flame tilted its "head" back. Elise jolted slightly, not expecting it to move. It copied her again, jolting back as well. "...oh! Are you- trying to learn how to move? Do this if you are." She nodded her head. Presumably, the fire did the same. 

A grin emerged on the princess' face as she began to walk, managing to get the flame to walk as well, circling each other for a few moments. She raised her hands, and briefly wiggled her fingers. The flame did the same, but after seeing her fingers, realized that its form wasn't perfect and quickly added detailed hands and feet.

As they played for a moment, the flames began to get increasingly more detailed, noticing little things like eyes, a mouth, nose, even ears. Soon, it looked almost perfectly human, other than the fact that it was still shaped fire.

"So... what now?" Elise asked with a smile, deciding to sit down. Her feet were tired from running around the base, as well as playing with her new friend. 

The flame didn't sit down, instead simply staring at her for a moment longer. Then, pieces of what seemed like ash began to cover it, which began to fade into new colors, human colors. 

The flame gained shiny golden hair, and bright red eyes. It had pale skin and was dressed about the same way she was, yet there was one detail that stood out to her... 

...three metallic gold plumes on either side of its- his head. They were slightly behind and above his ears, the one on the top being the longest while the one on the bottom being the shortest. The vanes overlapped each other, somewhat like wing feathers. Actually, they reminded her a bit of those ancient depictions of Solaris, with the antler-things on his armor. In fact...

...wait.


	2. Chapter 2

"You're Solaris, aren't you?" Elise asked, cautious. Oh, this could end badly...

"I am." Solaris confirmed, his voice sounding much more human than the echoing, soft voice in her head. "You recognized me." 

"...I- well, I can't stay in here forever, father's scientists will be returning soon and I don't want them to catch me, I'll get grounded." Elise huffed, standing up as she began to walk.

She turned, waiting for Solaris to follow her. Though, when he didn't, she realized he was somewhat unsure. "C'mon, I'll take you to the castle. It'll be okay." She tried to reassure, then continued to run away.

The soft, barely audible footsteps of the deity began to follow her own, beginning to sprint back the way she came. The soft blinking lights guided her travel, as the sun began to rise over the water surrounding the base, the dark world becoming a rich, beautiful blue. Oh, how she loved living in an island nation...

Eventually, she reached the beautiful wooden door that bridged the laboratory and the ancient castle, pushing it open with some force. 

Solaris slowed his sprint as he approached, cautiously approaching the doorway and peaking through, his plumes flattening to his head slightly as he became more and more anxious. "Are you sure this is safe?" He called to Elise.

"Sure it is!" She excitedly called back, beginning to sprint off toward the bedrooms as Solaris carefully followed, albeit at a much slower pace.

The young princess peaked her head around a large, ornate wooden door. "Father! I met a friend." She called out, trying to yank the heavy door open more. Solaris moved from view, staying in the blind spot caused by the door. 

"Yes, Elise?" The gruff voice of the elderly duke called, though it sounded kind. Or, at least, what Elise perceived as kind. The man expected her to show him an insect or bird, maybe a rabbit she found. When he stood up from the desk he was sitting at to walk toward the door, he froze when he saw the feathered "child".

"...who is this?" He asked, cautiously and slowly. Staring into Solaris' fire-red eyes only yielded a look of spite, and not only spite but pure hatred. The pain of those experiments was associated with that grey-haired face and lies. Many, many lies...

"This is- uh... a kid I met outside the castle! His name is Solaris-! A-after the eternal sun!" Elise tried to explain, not wanting to be caught sneaking around the laboratory. Solaris glanced over to her, and she could tell that he wasn't happy with her attempts to lie, though it was... an understanding feeling. He knew she was just trying to not get in trouble, it wasn't for malicious reasons, in fact, it was for righteous reasons, not getting him back into that horrible container again.

"Solaris..." The duke looked suspicious, but he knew that if he tried to recapture him, he'd likely fail and would risk his entire kingdom. It would be impossible to put Solaris back to sleep as that tiny flame, and it seemed that Elise had pacified his inevitable rage. To be fair, he did prepare her to tame the flames that were Solaris, but he didn't expect her to do so like this. 

With a reluctant sigh and a slight slouch, he spoke. "He can stay in the room next to yours." He knew it was empty, a stone floor too due to it never being remodeled with the wooden floor Elise's and his rooms had, so it was fireproof if something happened.

The princess excitedly cheered, bouncing on the balls of her feet. At least she was distracted as the duke locked eyes with the disguised deity again, seeing a knowing look that silently said you just dodged a bullet. The pair, one child and one near-perfect copy, took off once again with Elise leading the way and Solaris following behind.

"That went well." The golden-haired deity hummed softly, watching Elise as she skittered around the halls. His eyes drifted off to look at the stained glass of his true form, or at least Soleanna's interpretation of it. Did they see him as an eagle? Well, that's... interesting. 

As they continued to walk, they soon reached a doorway to the outside, as well as outdoor steps leading to the next tower up, as well as a statue of an eagle clutching a strange, green orb. "Oh! Have you tried one of these before?" Elise asked excitedly, hand hovering above the orb. "No. What are they?" Solaris tilted his head, his feathers softly ruffling in the breeze. "Pathways!" Elise grinned, pressing her hand to the orb and shifting it on the pole it was attached to.

The breeze swirled for a moment, becoming a nearly tangible thing before it finally took shape as a long path across a shallow river not too far down. The princess happily jumped onto it, walking across. Solaris hesitated for a moment, then decided to follow. It... felt cold, especially since his true body was made of light and fire. It even somewhat stung as it extinguished some of his flames and blew some of the ash he used to make himself seem to have physical form away, though they were soon across regardless.

"Where are we going?" He asked, finally deciding that this was a good enough time. "I... don't know, to be honest," Elise responded with a small nervous laugh. "I just wanted to show you around. It's really nice here, isn't it?"

"...it feels cold. I'd like to be indoors." He murmured softly, his feathers flattening on his head to try to stay warm.

"O-oh! Well, we can go back indoors, maybe we can go to my room and warm up? Or work on setting up your room?" Elise asked, though she could tell that Solaris didn't seem keen on traveling over that bridge again. "...I know, I'll carry you across, that way it isn't as scary!" She declared, turning around and beginning her trek over to the twin orb to the one she just touched, pressing on it and causing the pathway of wind to appear again.

The princess extended her arms, which Solaris allowed for her to be so close and handling him as she was. After she got a firm enough grip on him, she began to walk across again, being sure to be steady. "There we go... it's okay, we're on solid ground again. See? It's all safe." She reassured gently, stroking his feathers as she stepped onto the stone balcony again. "I bet you're tired. I'll carry you back to my room, I still have energy. Does that sound good?" Upon getting a subtle nod from the deity, she smiled. "Okay, let's go then!" 

As they approached the large wooden doors again, she pushed one of the smaller ones in the hallway open with her shoulder. It revealed an ornate, feathery and lacy room with orange, cream, and white tones, as well as the occasional red and yellow for fire depictions. A mirror was hung nicely on the wall, decorated with metal plumes and flames, and a chair that seemed to be a fusion of marble and wood. A deep, amethyst locket was hung on one of the plumes of the mirror, which struck Solaris as somewhat familiar. 

She decided to set him down on the cream-colored bed, right on top of the embroidered comforter with the Soleanna crest in gold thread. "Stay here for as long as you need, okay?"

Solaris looked at her for a moment, then nodded and laid his head down. The stained glass window's colorful appearance somewhat cast itself on him from the sun being right outside, the wings of his eagle-like depiction being spread out next to him due to how the room was set up.

The comforter's embroidered wings were at either side of him as well, giving them an ethereal glow and somewhat of a physical look with how perfectly it lined up. A subtle indication of who he truly was, by what seemed like fate itself. A beautiful example of the benevolent nature of the sun, and not as much the destructive force he could have become.

...maybe this timeline would work out.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has a timeskip of 8 years. Nothing really happened.

It had been a few years since Elise and Solaris met.

The two now looked much older, with Elise guiding Solaris' form to look like a boy around her age rather than a copy of her form. That would get awkward quick...

Solaris had been officially declared as a member of the royal family, the slightly younger sibling of Elise. His cover story? He was simply camera shy, and they wanted to respect his wishes by never showing him to the world.

Though, now, he was a proud prince of the nation he watched rise and fall over and over again. In fact, he found it amusing how often he heard people comment how his parents chose the right name for him, especially with his gold hair and red eyes that had a soft glow to them, but it was often hidden by the sun. 

The city was beautiful to explore, wandering around Castle Town with Elise at his side, guarded by two clerics. The way the water reflected off the slightly damp, mossy cliffs that hung over the ocean, with its soft scent of salt that filled his fiery lungs. 

"And you grew up in this place?" Solaris asked, looking to Elise. She nodded, a smile that he knew so well on her face. "I... can't believe how far this nation has come. Your technology is amazing, like the mirrors for example."

"The mirrors have been here for years." She shrugged.

"But still. Their function- it lets anyone travel the same way I can!" Solaris excitedly grinned, his feathers fluffing up slightly. "How did they even figure it out?"

"I... don't know, to be honest." Elise thought for a moment, slowing down as she did. Solaris slowed as well, which she pretty quickly noticed and sped back up to their original pace. "How is the new clothing that Father ordered for you?" Elise asked.

"Comfortable." Solaris nodded, looking over his new uniform. It was a white, ceremonial shirt lined with gold silk. He had long sleeves that had intricate designs of fire and vines stitched in gold on them, and lacy, feathered wings that were sewn onto his shoulders, draping down around his collar, as well as just basic black pants and black shoes that didn't look distinctly like anything, just... shoes.

"I'm glad." She had a soft skip to her step, nearly tripping for a moment. Not the most regal of actions, but why be regal when you're just walking around casually?

"How is your new dress?" Solaris asked, gesturing to the lacy, knee-length dress that she had recently gotten.

"Very flowy and light, it lets me move and still looks formal. Though, I could definitely do without the feather pins..." She touched the mentioned pins lightly. 

"Welcome to my world." Solaris ran his hand through his hair and over his feathers, pinning them for a moment before they popped back up as he laughed slightly.

"You don't even have any weight to them though." Elise responded quickly, catching Solaris off guard. "...you're right, but my point still stands. I know you dislike them not because of the weight, but because they tickle. You can't hide that from me, I can tell when you aren't telling me everything." 

"Well, we're coming up on the bridge that I wanted to show you." Elise shrugged, pointing to the stone arch over the river. "It has a perfect view of the altar. Oh, and the ceremony of the sun is coming up as well, so you may as well get acquainted with the view."

"...why would I need to?" Solaris questioned as they arrived. Elise stopped at the middle of the bridge, leaning on the wall to look out at the altar. 

"Well, you'll be participating in lighting the torch since you're 'of age' to do so." She winked at "of age". It wasn't like Solaris actually could age, he was only altering his form and learning new things naturally, giving him the impression of being 14. 

"I see. You did it last year, correct?"

"Mhm. It can be intimidating, getting up in front of all of those people and saying the prayer of thankfulness to you," She punched him lightly, a playful gesture with no malice behind it. "you shiny bird."

"Come now, I never told you to do that." He rolled his eyes, a small smile on his face.

"Yes, yes you did. It was in the history books I read about you, back around 1,200 years ago, you demanded thanks for your light." 

"...well, I can't remember everything that happened in history." He huffed, crossing his arms in fake offense. 

"Well, we'll still be lighting the torch this year. We're supposed to do it together." Elise explained, then quieted her voice. "Are you sure you won't get overwhelmed from all those people watching you?" She asked, implying how he always got stressed when too many of the servants were around at a certain time. 

His fear was a result of the Solaris Project, constantly having scientists swarming around him and then experiencing pain. It wasn't the cause of it, but it was associated in his mind.

"...I... I think i'll be okay." Solaris' feathers drooped slightly, the tips of them even shivering slightly. They always tended to betray his true emotions about things, and she could tell he wasn't sure. He was scared now that he was thinking of exactly how many people there'd be. 

"Hey... Solaris, I'll be right by your side. No one will touch you, and if they try, then I'll tell them to stop. You'll be okay, okay?" She grabbed his hands, forcing him to look her in the eye. "Remember that you're safe. You. Are. Safe." She shook him slightly, knowing that this often helped with grounding him when he got into his head.

"...right. Thank you." He said softly after a beat, then suddenly pulled her into a hug. 

"Have you ever thought about how you look like Big Bird?" Elise suddenly asked, changing the topic. 

"W-what?" Solaris seemed stunned. Exactly the effect she wanted.

"Y'know! Gold hair, gold feathers..." She ruffled his hair. "You're also a little bit taller than me, so you're obviously Big Bird."

He blinked, then broke out laughing, only speaking once he calmed down slightly. "How did you even come to that conclusion?" Solaris wheezed out. 

Elise shrugged. "...wanna go back to the castle?"

Solaris thought for a moment, then shrugged as well. "I want to stay out for a bit longer, so... maybe we go to the forest? There are some huge mushrooms I want to see closer."

"Oh, they're edible! Apparently they were planted on the trees a long time ago."

"Wait, really?"

"Mhm! Want to try one?"

"Sure, let's go."


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long on updating, so have a longer chapter with some sibling fluff. Warning for self-doubt, anxiety and dreading a deadline.

It was time.

Solaris took a deep breath, feeling the crisp, somewhat salty air circulate through his flames. He leaned on the mossy stone balcony of the ancient castle, looking out over the beautiful greenery growing on the cliffs and the walls around the mountains.

The faint, floral scent of the freshwater lakes of Soleanna Forest drifted along a particularly harsh wind, messing up his hair and feathers. "Figures." He muttered, resting his head on his arm, closing his flame-red eyes. 

"...I can tell you're anxious." A soft voice called from behind him, Elise's high heels clicking against the stone.

"The ceremony is today, why wouldn't I be anxious?" Solaris huffed, turning to look at her. 

She gave a small smile. "The priests will guide you, and the people of Soleanna are just excited to see you. They don't expect you to be perfect with your performance." 

"I just don't want to have to deal with... certain people. Specifically, the mayor. It's a disgusting thing that they elected a former scientist of- well, you know what."

"I understand feeling like that-"

"Because you can feel what I feel. I know, it's part of being one of my royals." 

"Let me finish. I understand feeling like you don't want to deal with these people, because... to be honest, I- I don't resent anyone, but these people, who did this to you... I would say my honest feelings about them are close." 

"...they hurt me for a selfish reason, Elise. They lied to everyone."

"I know. But you've watched the guards and servants and everyone else who works here for so many years, and only a few have had any true malicious will. And that's quite the large amount of people."

"I'm just... I-"

"It's okay to be scared. I don't think any lesser of you for having emotions, they're natural. No matter what Father says about feeling bad, you sometimes have to. You know how when the sky becomes so grey sometimes and it kind of feels like the sun will never return? It always does, doesn't it? So even if you feel scared now, you might not feel scared when you get to the altar. You could feel excited!"

"I doubt it."

"Stay open to it, okay?" Elise put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Maybe you'll surprise yourself."

"...fine, fine. I will."

"Good! Now, we should probably both get ready, your new uniform is on your bed."

Before Solaris had a chance to respond, Elise had already grabbed him by the arm and began to pull him along back to the hallway where their rooms resided. "I'll style your hair once you change, do you think you can do your feathers? They look all split and I don't know how to fix those." 

"I- of course." Solaris gave a soft chuckle, allowing himself to be dragged into his own room, getting almost tossed onto his bed. "I'll give you some privacy." Elise called, then promptly shut the large door. 

Solaris watched for a moment longer, then began to change out of his more comfortable, flowy clothes that he often wore around the castle and into the formal clothing he wore for their walk around Castle Town, messing up his hair more in the process.

He opened the door to signal to Elise that he was ready, then went to sit in front of his mirror and began to fix his feathers, smoothing them into a uniform shape rather than the wild, wind-blown appearance he usually had them as. 

Elise took the hint, sneaking up behind him before suddenly giving him a hug from behind. "Hello." She hummed, a smile to her voice. "Hairbrush and gel in the left bottom drawer." Solaris chuckled softly, grinning. What a dork.

"Thanks." Elise promptly began to dig around for it in the mentioned drawer, pulling the tools out and getting to work on trying to tame the physical flames of a windblown birds nest. 

After the two were finally done preparing for the ceremony, they promptly began to walk toward the river they were going by. It would lead into the bay, then into the canals and finally to the altar. While it would be simpler to walk, it was tradition to go by water. 

While Solaris didn't look all that comfortable that close to the water, he knew it wouldn't hurt him. It couldn't hurt him. It was just... a natural fear, as a being of flame. 

Yet, despite his attempts at hiding it, Elise still took notice. "I requested a waterproof cloak for the ride for you. It'll keep you dry if any water splashes onto you." She assured, taking his hand as they got to the docks. 

She easily got onto the gondola with practiced ease, while Solaris was a bit more shaky. "Hey, easy..." Elise gently grabbed him by the waist, lifting him with ease and setting him next to her. Having a sibling made of fire has some benefits.

Elise rolled her eyes slightly, smiling at Solaris to give him a bit of reassurance as she placed the cloak on his shoulders. She understood how this must be stressful on him, as he really didn't like large crowds, water, and having to... talk to himself, kind of. That one only occurred to her then. The prayer he was supposed to say was already rehearsed over and over again, and it really was just talking to himself. 

As the boat began to push off from the docks, the team rowing it along began to angle the boat out into the bay outside Kingdom Valley. The sun was beginning to set now, and the moon was starting to rise. The ceremony was performed in the night to make the flames brighter, though it also revealed the glow to Solaris' eyes.

The stars danced above, reflecting quietly on the waves as they glided across the ocean to Castle Town. Solaris shuttered softly as a cold, ocean breeze washed over him, pulling the waterproof cloak over his shoulders a bit tighter. Yet, it was still a beautiful sight, to just have a moment with the water splashing against the boat. The whistles of eagles starting to go to their nests for the night occasionally drifted along the salty air.

As the lit city began to come into view, it gave Solaris some time to appreciate exactly how important this holiday must be to them all. And to be fair, it certainly was incredible how much effort the town went through to set up so many beautiful lights. 

They began to glide into the canals of Castle Town, people gathering around the edge of the water to watch the two royal siblings arrive. Music was already playing as the dancers aboard the boat began their routine, gracefully moving around in perfect coordination, as if they embodied the unique dance of fire itself. 

"...ready?" Elise whispered, gently nudging Solaris and pulling him from his trance. "...I think I am." He hesitated as he spoke, but there was a gleam of determination to his eyes. "I know you are." She nodded as he shrugged the cloak off, standing up and walking with her to the front of the boat as it pulled toward the altar, soon landing in front of it and allowing the two nobles to step onto the platform.

Solaris looked around for a moment, then took a deep breath and walked toward the high priest holding the silver torch. As he stared into it, he couldn't help but bring his hand toward the flame, gently touching it as his disguise melted away for a second, showing his true form of fire gently touching fire. It felt so familiar and warm to him...

...as he pulled his hand from the torch, he began to speak, closing his eyes. "We give thanks for the blessed flames. May we always continue to have peace. Sun of Soleanna, guide and watch over us with your eternal light." He spoke, just barely loud enough for his speech to be heard.

Then, he set the torch against the altar, lighting pathways resembling wings or fire alight, and igniting the large drum at the top of the altar. He handed the now-extinguished torch back to the high priest, then looked to Elise with a weak look, a question asking if he did well. She gave a subtle smile and nod, which made him breathe a sigh of relief. 

The rest of the ceremony went off without a hitch. People were serving street food in decorated carts, adorned with candles and lanterns. Some were selling small trinkets to tourists, while the locals snickered at how easily tricked they were into buying the overpriced keychains and pens. 

"So, people often come here to see the festival?" Solaris asked Elise as they began to walk back onto the gondola. "Yes, this is the time with the most tourists, so even if you mess up, they'll think it's the best show they've ever seen regardless." Elise grinned as she took his hand, leading him toward a bridge to the walkways, planning to bring him around town to show him the beauty of the city during the festival.

"It's also one of the safest times. Despite more people than ever, the crime rates are lowered drastically since we have increased security around these times. And don't worry about anyone trying to break into the castle, the eagles are natural security." She laughed, pulling him along to look at the street vendors. 

One thing in particular caught his eye, which was more-or-less a cotton ball on a keychain, priced at 10 dollars with the label "Flame of Hope keychain". It made him wheeze softly, covering his mouth to hide his grin. Of course, when he witnessed a tourist happily buy it, he couldn't help but cackle. At least it was drowned out by the crowds, but Elise could hear it just fine.

"I told you it'd be fun." She gently elbowed him, a smile on her face. 

"Well, you're right about the festival, but the ceremony wasn't." Solaris got his laughter under control, eyes seeming metaphorically brighter than before. All of his dread about the ceremony had melted away, and now he could just happy relax. It felt good to... just be someone. 

He was Solaris, the Eternal Sun and Flames of Disaster. Now, he's a person, a friend, and a prince. 


End file.
